Two Funerals
"Two Funerals" is the eleventh episode of Season 7 of the NBC television series ''Parks and Recreation'', and the 123rd episode overall. It premiered on February 17, 2015. The episode opens with the news that Donna and Joe have closed on a house in Seattle, Leslie and Ben will be splitting their time between DC and Pawnee for Leslie's new job, April and Andy have found a place in DC as well, and Gary is retiring (again). Then comes the news that the heretofore unseen Mayor Gunderson (Bill Murray) has passed as well. At the memorial, the characters process their grief in different ways. Ben Wyatt enlists April and Garry to help find an interim mayor. Leslie attempts to convince Tom Haverford to propose to Lucy. Ron Swanson, while unaffected by the death of the Mayor, collapses upon hearing his barber, Salvatore, has passed as well. Finally, Ethel Beavers reveals that she has been Mayor Gunderson's lover for 46 years, since he was in an open marriage, and that she regrets not expressing her love for him sooner. In Leslie and Tom's plot, they order a last minute banner, where Leslie reminds the banner store owner that she has spent over $100,000 dollars at his store, which caused her credit card company to call and ask if she was mentally stable. The two then begin filming an action movie in Ted's store (complete with stunt doubles and Jean-Ralphio as the villain). However, as soon as Lucy arrives in Pawnee, Tom throws out his old plan, and proposes to Lucy at the Snakehole Lounge, where they first met, using items from their first date. She accepts. Ben, April, and Garry begin interviewing potential interim Mayors, starting with Bobby Newport, who declines since he is too busy partaking in space tourism. After moving through several other notable Pawneans, including Joan Callamezzo (who declines due to her claimed youthful age, 27), Dr. Saperstein (declines for lack of time due to his mogul status), and The Douche (reverts to Douche persona), April suggests Ben himself. However, after finally accepting the Ice Town fiasco from his past, Ben decides to pass the mayoral position onto Garry, who is overjoyed. He even receives an amazing inauguration celebration, including a throne, red carpet, choir, roman legions, hot air balloon, and fireworks (all strongly suggested to have been for Tom's original proposal plan). At Salvatore's funeral, Ron declares that the three most important people in a man's life are his barber, his butcher, and his lover, and places $8 dollars, the cost of a haircut, lovingly in Salvatore's coffin. It later emerges that Ron's sadness truly stems from his fear of change and the amount of change happening around him; with all his friends moving away, Salvatore was the one constant left in Ron's life. After some sage words from Ron Dunn, Donna gets the idea to take Ron to Typhoon. While Typhoon is much more talkative and flamboyant than Ron's former barber, Ron quite enjoys Typhoon's disdain for Europe and bicycles, and it becomes clear that he has found his new barber. Quotes Ben: 'I can't believe I'm about to be the mayor. '''Garry: '''I can't believe I'm about to notarize it. ''looks awkwardly at the camera ''Okay, so look - just sign right there and then we can let the notary fireworks begin! '''April: '''Who's gonna be the mayor for the next two months, then? ''camera pans from Ben over to Garry; Ben comes up with the answer 'Ben: '''Garry Gergich. ''looks at him ''How would you like to be the next mayor of Pawnee, Indiana? ''gasps as he looks at Ben, then at April, and finally at the camera '''April: '''NOOOOOOOO! '''Ron: I've never been a fan of change. Salvatore was a constant in my life. Ron Dunn: nearby ''In my experience, the only constant is change. '''Ron: '''Oh, s**t. '''Andy:' Ronn Dunn ''Hey, you look awfully familiar. Have we met before? '''Ron Dunn:' I'm sure our souls have collided in one lifetime or another. Andy: '''No, that's not it. Are you in my frisbee-golf league? '''Ron Dunn: Oh, yeah! I play for the Super Spinners! Andy: '''Oh, I'm on the Frisbee Champs. '''Ron Dunn: Oh, cool! Ron: Andrew, stop speaking to this man. He's the worst human being on Earth. Ron Dunn: '''Oh, come on. Death makes brothers of us all. '''Andy: Who cuts your hair? Ron Dunn: Nobody. Whenever my hair feels it has completed its journey, it simply sheds itself off. Ron: '''I hate you... so much. '''Ron Dunn: And I love you, my brother. looks slowly at him, unsure of what to say Leslie: ''seeing Tom propose to Lucy and she accepts Oh, my God, that was so sweet! '''Jean-Ralphio Saperstein: '''It really was. '''Ron: '''So, Typhoon, what do you like to do for fun? '''Typhoon: '''I'm running an electric opera about Brittany Murphy. And I do the chandelier design for my friend's drag puppet show. '''Ron: '''No further questions. '''Typhoon: '''All I really want to do is dance, except lately all the good warehouse raves are filled with Eurotrash. '''Ron: 'piqued ''Eurotrash? I like that. It is, indeed, a garbage continent. '''Typhoon: '''Yeees! Oh, my God, I had the worst time in Berlin last May - everyone was on their stupid bikes and I was like "Eww". '''Ron: '''laughs ''Please talk more about how you hate Europe and bicycles.